


Doctor Strange, a study in time manipulation

by startrekfan



Series: Doctor Strange's Powers [5]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, Gen, Meta, powers, spells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 02:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16109306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekfan/pseuds/startrekfan
Summary: Meta analysis about Doctor Strange's power.





	Doctor Strange, a study in time manipulation

##  **Time Manipulation!**

[Originally posted by mas-sera-o-benedict](https://tmblr.co/ZCLMfk2aYK6_p)

So, what is “time manipulation”? What extents does Doctor Strange’s power has? Along the movies so far, we’ve seen Stephen use the time stone in MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, so yeah, it’s not about “time travel”, it’s about something way more complex and it has everything to do with the multiverse theory and with the theory of non linear timelines. Since this will be complex, let’s divide the thing in topics to make it easier. Before we start, it’s important to have in mind Stephen consumes a lot of energy in order to use the stone. It’s tiring and difficult to do so and that’s something just him (and Agamotto) managed to do so far. (Thanos doesn’t count since he used the Gauntlet to “force” the stones to use their powers).

  * **Control over the time stone**
  * **Witness temporal possibilities**
  * **Rewind, advance and f** **reeze time**
  * **Time loop**
  * **Time travel**



## Control over the time stone

Time spells are activated while using the hand sign below. It’s also used to open the Eye and activate the time stone, but probably, time spells that do NOT use the time stone also can be executed that way!

[Originally posted by phoenixnici-strange](https://tmblr.co/ZXpsCi2ReIVwj)

When Stephen first used the Eye of Agamotto, which contains the Time Stone, Wong and Mordo were impressed, and there’s a reason for that. In the comics, there are many theories and versions of the story that only someone with a pure soul or with a huge potential for good can control the time stone and the Eye of Agamotto. Other theories claim only Agamotto himself could control the eye, what made the “Doctor Strange is Agamotto’s reincarnation” theory get strong among many fans. In the movie, it’s only subtext about how one must learn a lot in order to use the Eye. Strange still hadn’t read the entire book when he used the Eye for the first time but he already had a lot of knowledge considering the massive amount of books he had read. He also has the huge potential for goodness the Ancient One had spoken about so…everything matches, but so why didn’t other sorcerers manage to use the eye? I bet Wong and the Ancient One were good people and skilled sorcerers, so why didn’t they use the Eye before? That still is a mystery, it hints us there’s something special about Strange, and I personally believe it’s about his DETERMINATION. When Stephen started to study the Mystic Arts, he was the most determined fella out there and I’m not talking about being a genius. Stephen might be brilliant when it comes to learning and he has photographic memory, but still, that doesn’t make him a genius. What does so is how determined he was. He BELIEVED learning all those spells would make him recover his precise movements, he believed he would get his old life back (what was a great lie). That raw, pure, intense determination made his “mana”, his “mystic potential” grow strong enough so the Eye would listen to his will and obey (or accept him).

[Originally posted by universedifferent](https://tmblr.co/Zdbgbw2XaeY6-)

Doctor Strange’s willpower is what makes him the genius he is, he gets really good at whatever he WANTS to do and that’s his strong spot. Let’s not forget Strange was THE WORST STUDENT EVER, he couldn’t conjure the easiest of the spells and all the other students seemed to do easily what he would struggle a lot to accomplish. What did he do? He started to study day and night, he focused and eventually, surpassed them all. His willpower was unreachable. The Ancient One, when leaving Stephen on the Everest so he would get determined enough to conjure a portal showed us confidence, determination and focus are extremely important when it comes to magic, in other words, spells aren’t just about equations and formulas that must be said or pictured, it’s about emotions and spirit as well. In Infinity War, we also get to see how there seemed to be a strong bond between the Stone and Strange, maybe even a friendship bond considering the stones do have personality? In fact, Stephen never USED the stone, Stephen and the stone have WORKED TOGETHER to achieve noble goals so sure, there’s a huge bond between them, the stone allowed Stephen to control its power. Thanos needs a gauntlet to FORCE the stones to use their power while Strange can even hold he stone with his bare hand without getting hurt.

## Witness temporal possibilities

[Originally posted by sherlockspeare](https://tmblr.co/ZShE3y2aNEV_5)

Strange can use the stone to live possible outcomes, as he did in Infinity War. When he does that, the stone and himself become the “center” of time, so while it seems seconds to us, to Strange the events might last for YEARS. Stephen saw over 14 million different possible outcomes in Infinity War. Many calculated that for him this trip might have lasted between 500 and 1500 years, considering each outcome could have lasted from hours to entire days or weeks. While in this mode, considering himself and the stone become the center of time, he doesn’t age, but his thoughts, since thoughts are quantic, Strange gets to keep the memories of everything he witnessed since time doesn’t affect them directly. That’s the tactic he used to find the only way to defeat Thanos and bring everyone he killed back to life. According to this logic, Strange defeated Thanos the moment he got to see how to guide the heroes to fulfill the future he saw. So yeah, Stephen already defeated Thanos, we basically still didn’t get to see that yet, we’ll probably see it in Avengers Infinity War Part 2. This technique requires a really strong mind and willpower because well, anyone could easily go insane doing this. Imagine seeing your friends die or be tortured for years over and over again in different scenarios of the same thing, you the only one who knows and remembers how things went, like in the movie Groundhog Day.

[Originally posted by charlesoberonn](https://tmblr.co/Z6FpSl2bUTyTO)

## Rewind, advance and freeze time

The spell activation causes a great impact on the atmosphere.

[Originally posted by sirenja-and-the-stag](https://tmblr.co/Z3kt0r2C-4JzL)

We saw Strange doing that to the apple he was eating and to Kaecilius and the entire Hong Kong area in which the battle took place. Using that technique, Strange brought back to life everyone who had died, including his fellow sorcerers and undid all the destruction. This spell only works under its range, in other words, all the cameras OUTSIDE the Eye’s range FILMED the entire battle and weren’t affected by the Time Stone. Strange doesn’t make existence rewind, he makes the RANGE he used the spell on rewind. To prove that point, there’s a teaser trailer in which Hong Kong’s News are broadcasting the battle, not understanding what’s going on while Strange and Kaecilius are fighting, like Breaking News! See the video below:

Another important thing about this spell is that sorcerers who know time is being manipulated around them and over them can get out of the spell, just like Kaecilius and the zealots did. Thanos probably would have been able to do that too if Strange tried to use the Time Stone against him, considering the titan had 3 stones to use against the sorcerer. We saw Strange move time backwards, forward and freeze time in the movie, so yeah, it’s pretty clear he can do that.

## Time loop

[Originally posted by supercanaries](https://tmblr.co/ZGXt_v2CfisOT)

The famous “SAVE GAME?” from videogames, Strange can use the stone to “lock” time in a fixed point and set conditions so time will be rewinded to that specific position all over again, in the movie, he used time loop against Dormammu and the condition for the loop to be activated was his own death. Strange locked himself and Dormammu inside the loop while all the rest of time was frozen around them, preventing Dormammu from escaping. As time is relative, everyone else didn’t realize they were frozen, so all they remember is to be living happily, in that case, Strange indeed could fight Dormammu forever while humanity lived safely from Dormammu. It was the most heroic thing Strange did in the first movie, what granted him the definitive title of Master of the Mystic Arts and his place as the New York Sanctum Guardian. (Until he died in Infinity War). Strange also can use the loop in specific targets to make someone relive the same moment over and over again, as well as he can do that to himself. He can also lock a place in a loop or a group of people. We know that because of Wong and Mordo’s warnings and scolding, in which they implied Strange could erase his own existence or live moments over and over again. Considering Stephen can choose the range and the targets of the time stone, he easily could trap anyone inside loops, except if they were a more experienced sorcerer or if they had another Infinity Stone to counter his own, like Thanos. That’s why using the time stone to BATTLE against Thanos was useless, but that didn’t stop Stephen from using the stone to win the war.

[Originally posted by mollydobby](https://tmblr.co/ZUNA5v2EiJXS4)

## Time travel

[Originally posted by carodanver](https://tmblr.co/ZZIVah2aLT-hE)

It’s the greatest question Infinity War left us. When witnessing the many different outcomes, it’s clear enough Strange LIVED them, one by one, considering his panic and despair after he came back from the trip. I don’t think it’s easy to give Stephen a panic attack but that use of the stone sure did. He can use the time stone not to just watch the future or the past, but he can also live those possibilities. Going to the past and changing things could erase someone else’s existence (like in Back to the Future) as warned by Mordo, however, going to the future and trying different things to solve a matter creates different outcomes. Considering Strange belong to the MCU reality, despite seeing many different outcomes, if he moves enough pieces he can GUIDE THE MCU REALITY INTO TURNING INTO THE REALITY HE WANTS, in other words HE CAN MANIPULATE THINGS SO ONE SPECIFIC FUTURE COMES TRUE, leaving the other possible futures for other realities, parallel ones, inevitable ones.  
It’s also a great question if Strange sent the time stone to the past or to the future in that moment. Well, we saw him hiding the stone in a star in the most poetic way possible, so well, I wouldn’t be surprised if Avengers 4 started with the time stone appearing in front of Tony in Titan, since it can only travel time, not space. Was he bluffing when he gave the time stone to Thanos? Did he activate the stone in a loop? Did he use the stone to make the gauntlet break or travel time? We’ll have to wait to find out, but the theories are amazing regardless. 

[Originally posted by cumberbatchlives](https://tmblr.co/ZFQbcn2aMBGSg)

This was today’s Doctor Strange’s Powers Week! I hope you liked! Share and comment! :D 


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